Man rides pony through McDonald's drive-thru – and the pony gets free apple slices

Staff at the McDonald’s in Wychbold, Worcestershire, have seen a lot come through the drive-thru. A pony, until now, was not on the list.

Eventing rider Nick Holden, from nearby Feckenham, turned up on Sparky – a black-and-white steed of about 14.2 hands, which he reckons sits right on the line between big pony and small horse. That was deliberate: his larger horses, at around 18 hands, wouldn’t clear the height barriers.

The pair waited politely at the speaker. Nobody answered. So they clip-clopped on to the first window until somebody noticed them, which, Holden told the BBC, gave the server “a bit of a shock”. To their eternal credit, staff were “really lovely”, serving up chicken nuggets and fries for the rider and a free bag of apple slices for Sparky.

Holden says he made the same trip on horseback about a decade ago, when he couldn’t drive. His Instagram reel of the return visit has been watched more than 590,000 times.

McDonald’s own guidelines say drive-thrus are for motor vehicles and roadworthy mobility scooters – not pedestrians, cyclists or horse riders. Holden’s defence? Horses were the original mode of transport, so they ought to be exempt.

Frankly, we can’t fault the logic. The pair rounded the day off with a picnic in Hanbury Woods, which is more than most of us manage on a lunch break.